Vanishing Chocolate
by Hogwarts Duo
Summary: There’s a thief at Hogwarts but they only take something important to the Headmaster. Who is taking his chocolate and why? Short and Complete!


**_Vanishing Chocolate_**

Summary: There's a thief at Hogwarts but they only take something important to the Headmaster. Who is taking his chocolate and why? Short and Complete!

Rated: PG

_Disclaimer: _We don't own the characters mentioned below. They are the glorious creation of JKR…well except for the house elf…she belongs to us.

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Albus Dumbledore reached into the top drawer of his large mahogany desk. He always kept a personal stash of assorted sweets to satisfy the daily urge and today he fancied a chocolate frog, or even a piece of double decadent fudge. But, much to his surprise, he found nothing but a bag of sherbert lemons, some jelly slugs, the last of the peppermint toads, and a new pack of sugar quills. No chocolate to be found anywhere. He was positive he had purchased a new supply on Saturday and today was just Wednesday. What could have happened to his entire chocolate reserve?

Sitting back and pondering the mystery, he realized that strange things had been happening for the last few weeks. On more than one occasion, he had caught Minerva in his office, which was not unusual. But her reaction at his entry was different. It was almost as if she had been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Upon further consideration, though, he banished those thoughts from his head. Minerva was the last person at Hogwarts who would tamper with his sweets drawer, simply because she did not possess a sweet tooth of her own. 

Popping a sherbert lemon into his mouth, he tried to concentrate but it wasn't working. When one of the house elves brought up two cups of hot chocolate, Albus was thoroughly confused. "Peaky, why did you bring two cups of chocolate this afternoon? As you can see, I have no visitors today."

"Peaky is sorry sir. We is assuming that Professor McGonagall would be joining you and we is not wanting her to miss her afternoon cup. We will be taking it back to the kitchens and trying to find her in her own office." Raising a hand to take the second cup, she was stopped by the Headmaster.

"No Peaky. I believe that Professor McGonagall will want to take her cup of hot chocolate in my office. I will ask her to join me for an impromptu meeting. Thank you" As the house elf made her way towards the large door leading to his private staircase, Albus issued one last request. "Oh and Peaky, please see that we are not disturbed for the rest of the afternoon. We have a great deal to discuss and it is of a highly sensitive nature."

Minerva McGonagall sat in her office attempting to grade the sixth years' essays on the dangers of human transfiguration. She was making good progress when a familiar voice called her from her work. Looking up, she saw Albus Dumbledore's head appear in her fireplace. "Minerva, are you busy?" 

"No Albus. I'm just grading a few papers for tomorrow. Is there something wrong?"

"Not at all, my dear. But I would like for you to join me in a cup of tea. There are a few things I need to discuss with you, if you are available." In a matter of minutes, she had agreed to his request and her soft footsteps were heard as she entered the outer reception area of his large quarters.

In a few long strides, Albus had crossed the room and pulled Minerva into a rather tight embrace. She had grown fond of being lavished with sudden displays of affection, as long as there was no possibility of being seen, but this hug was different. She could sense something odd in the way he had gathered her to him. When he inhaled deeply, it was as if he was attempting to memorize the scent of her. Settling down on the familiar sofa near the fire, Albus offered her a small mug from the serving set and took one for him.

"Albus, I think you have my cup, dearest. This one has cocoa in it. You must have my tea." Handing him the cup, she extended her other hand to take the mug from him, which assuredly held her favorite peppermint tea. Upon switching cups of steaming liquid, Minerva appeared confused yet slightly guilty.

"Minerva, is there something wrong? I thought you would enjoy a little afternoon chocolate." The twinkling blue eyes of her husband were staring a hole right through her. She didn't want to admit to anything without first knowing how much he really knew.

"Albus, I have no idea what you mean. I always take afternoon tea, never cocoa. You are fully aware that you have the sweet tooth in this marriage, not I." Shifting uncomfortably, she cursed herself for allowing him to make her feel so flustered. She had no intentions of telling him and yet he seemed to draw things out of her. It had always been that way and it unnerved her.

In an attempt to salvage what small amount of control he had on the situation, Albus politely conjured Minerva a cup of peppermint tea and tried another approach. As they sat closely on the sofa in a companionable silence, he started again.

"My dear, do you remember where I put my bag from Honeydukes when we returned on Saturday? I seem to have lost some of the contents and I have looked everywhere."

"Really, Albus. You emptied the entire bag into your 'sweets drawer' and then tossed the empty container into the bin. You probably ate the items you're looking for and just don't remember. Why don't you simply owl Honeydukes and have them send over some more chocolate? I certainly won't mind and they can bill us for it later."

Albus' eyes grew wide and a hearty chuckle escaped his lips as he registered what she had just said. He had her now and he was going in for the kill! "Minerva, who said anything about missing chocolate? I merely stated that 'some' of the sweets were missing, but I did not mention specifics." 

A pink hue quickly spread over her cheeks and she could tell that they were growing more colorful by the second. Her little game was up and she was going to have to confess. She hoped he would understand, it was such an innocent thing…how could he not?

Taking a steadying breath, Minerva decided to come clean and confess her little deception. "Alright, Oh Great and Mighty Dumbledore! You have me cornered. What would you like to know?"

"Well Love, let's start with the obvious. Did you or did you not take my chocolate from the drawer?" Nodding her head in admission, he continued with his questioning. "And how long has this been going on?"

"It started about three weeks ago, when you were away on Order business." She knew that by giving him as little information as possible, she might be able to salvage some of her dignity and get away unscathed. At least that was her original plan.

"Would you mind telling me what caused your sudden addiction to chocolate? And has it spread to any other sweets or merely chocolate?"

Minerva felt so hot, she knew her cheeks must be crimson colored. This was her husband of over fifty years and yet she was still embarrassed to tell him the truth. However, she knew that he would learn the secret one way or another and she might was well tell him willingly.

"Albus, you were gone and I missed you terribly. I woke in the middle of the night from a rather 'interesting' dream and I desperately wanted to kiss you. But you weren't here. I tried to imagine what your kiss would taste like. Do you remember the last thing you ate before you left that evening?" Shaking his head at the rather odd question, she answered her own question. "Well dear, you ate a chocolate frog. Remember how I scolded you about the dangers of rotting teeth?" 

"Ahh, yes. I remember now. But please continue. I am very interested to see how this affects my sweets stash."

Squirming again, she continued. "As I said before, I had a dream and tried to remember your kiss. And the only thing I could think of was how you tasted of chocolate." This was it and she knew it. She was about to reveal her soul to him and then he would most likely laugh at her silliness. "I rose from the bed and made my way to your drawer. I took a chocolate frog, closed my eyes, and ate it. It wasn't nearly as nice as kissing you but somehow I felt closer to you and slightly comforted."

A mischievous glint entered Albus' twinkling blue eyes as he contemplated her words. So, that was it. She had missed him and he reminded her of chocolate. But what did that have to do with the missing desserts since he had returned home? Posing the question to her, he patiently waited for a response.

"I willingly admit that I have been sneaking into your desk drawer and snatching the odd bits of chocolate. I had hoped you wouldn't notice but I never intended to take the last piece. You caught me by surprise yesterday and I didn't have a chance to take an inventory of the pieces. I am sorry."

"Now tell me why you have been sneaking all this time. I've been home and yet my supply has been depleted."

"Albus, I don't know how to explain it. Since that first bite of the frog, I have associated your warming kisses with chocolate. And I can have those at any time, in any place, and with everyone looking. It reminds me of how I feel when you hold me close, and in the rush of the day, it offers me a bit of sanity and a release from my cares of the moment. I was ashamed to tell you because I was afraid you would think me silly."

Taking both of her hands in his, Albus tenderly pulled Minerva from the couch and over to his desk drawer. "My dear, have you not ever wondered what I keep in the second drawer of my desk?" Agreeing that it had always puzzled her that that drawer was always locked, she watched as Albus uttered a simple phrase and the lock sprang open. 

Peering down into the drawer, Minerva could not believe her eyes. Carefully placed inside the large wooden drawer was a box of ginger newts in a tin that resembled the one that Minerva kept on her desk. "You see, my love, I too associate your kisses with a certain taste. You always remind me of a ginger newt and when I need to feel your comforting lips on mine and I can't, then I indulge in a small diversion until I am able to have the real thing."

Tears welled in her eyes but the stern transfiguration professor did not care. As they slowly trailed down her face, she was overcome with emotion. As he lightly brushed his lips against hers, a sigh was released before Minerva deepened the kiss. 

"Mmmm…chocolate. Albus, would you care to take this into the other room for a little experiment?"

Licking his lips and muttering something about ginger newts, he agreed but asked what kind of experiment she had in mind. The twinkle in his eyes told her that he already knew but she decided to play along.

"Well Headmaster, I have always wondered how chocolate covered ginger newts would taste and I think that you are just the wizard to help me. Care to take me up on my offer?"

As they held hands and began to walk away from the desk, Minerva attempted to head in one direction, while Albus was headed towards their bedroom. "Minerva, where are you going?"

"I was headed to our kitchen to make some chocolate covered ginger newts. Where were you going?" Directing her eyes in his intended direction, she began to giggle. "Oh, I see. Well maybe my little experiment can wait. Why don't we try yours first and then work on mine later?"

"Oh, how I love the art of compromise!" In seconds, Albus had scooped Minerva into his arms and carried her off to their bedchambers for an afternoon of delight. 

From that day forward, Honeydukes had a standing order each week…a double portion of chocolate in various forms and two tins of ginger newts. No one ever questioned Minerva's sudden love of chocolate or the Headmaster's new favorite cookie, but they did notice the slight sparkle in Minerva and Albus' eyes when eating the treat. Seeing as how they were merely desserts, no one was any the wiser…just Albus and Minerva who shared a secret passion.

_The End_


End file.
